This month's Intercom focuses on gaming, a subject that evokes fond memories of my youth and my current research interests. I have witnessed a resurgence in the gaming industry lately (both for entertainment or sports-based games and also for those related to training and management), which is supported in an Economist Special Report on video games (www.economist.com/node/21541164). Tim Cross predicts, “video games will be the fastest-growing and most exciting form of mass media over the coming decade,” arguing that “as the newest and fastest-growing form of mass media[, games] deserve to be taken seriously.”
I couldn't agree more. Like all media businesses, the games industry is changing fast and in unexpected ways. From arcades and home consoles to social and mobile apps to Internet-based games, they have become increasingly sociable by electronically linking gamers the world over. “Millions of people spend many hours each week playing and working (sometimes the distinction is not clear) in virtual places.” As a result, the gaming world is a space where technical communicators could thrive.
Jeffery Greene, Laura Palmer, and Craig McKenney certainly think so. In their articles, they all emphasize the importance of technical communication in gaming documentation and development. Greene and Palmer discuss the history and future of games documentation and technical communication's role in the industry. McKenney shows how technology pioneered by games is being put to use in fields from military and police training to molecular biology and marketing. The industry has even spawned a new management technique, “gamification,” that applies the psychological principles of game design to motivating workers and engaging customers.
While video games may be seen as trivial by the general public, the authors in this issue of Intercom argue that, as the newest and fastest-growing form of mass media, games deserve to be taken seriously, especially by technical communicators.
—Liz Pohland
